Allegedly the Mayan calendar ends on December 21, 2012 and thus the world must end on that date as well. Jesus tells us no one knows the day or time of His return. If the Mayan calendar turns out to be right it will be an accident. While Jesus doesn’t give us a date He does give us some of the signs of the coming end. He said we would hear of wars and rumors of wars and that we’d see famines and earthquakes; these all were simply the beginning of the birth pains. Friends, there have been all of these in abundance since Jesus ascended into Heaven. He wasn’t saying these are signs but only the symptoms of the coming end.
In His description in today’s reading Jesus goes on to say that the disciples would be delivered up to tribulation and put to death. This did come to pass as all but one of the Apostles died violently for their faith and many followers (disciples) of Christ have been murdered since. By the way, notice He says Christians will be delivered up to tribulation. This may put a bit of a crimp in the argument of the pre-trib rapture folks. Those that subscribe to that point of view believe that all Christians will be taken up in the rapture before the tribulation mentioned in Revelation takes place. This statement by Jesus doesn’t necessarily mean that we won’t be taken up, but I don’t see conclusive proof that we will be either. Regardless Jesus consistently warns people that following Him will come with hardship so pre-trib or not don’t expect an easy ride. (By the way, I don’t take a position on pre, mid, and post trib rapture. I don’t feel there is enough information to say with certainty in any case.)
Well, I have digressed. The persecution of the saints is also something that is to be expected on the way to the end. In fact, the trouble that Christians will face as we proceed to the end of days will be so severe that many will fall away. The last few verses of today’s reading give us cause for concern and state specifically when the end will come.
Matthew 24:9-14 ESV
“… and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
So, we will have a hard time as the days come to an end. We will be hated by all nations! The end, however, will come when the Gospel has been proclaimed throughout the whole world – that’s probably why they all will hate us. When the end comes brother everyone will have heard the truth. The Gospel, since the time of Jesus has headed west from Jerusalem. Today it continues west from China where thousands are accepting Christ daily. Soon the Gospel will come full circle coming back to Jerusalem from the east. Then my brothers Christ will return and His will be done. His kingdom will come. Don’t fall away brothers. Persevere until the end. Your reward comes at a price but it is well worth the struggle.
Today we read of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem prior to the Passover celebration. He is headed toward the cross and He has been warning His disciples of what is to come – still they didn’t understand. Believe it or not I am not going to address that in today’s post. Prior to His entrance to Jerusalem the mother of James and John asked that Jesus allow her two boys to sit on His left and right hand in His Kingdom. Those that sat next to the king, on his left and right, were the second and third most powerful individuals in the kingdom, after the king himself. This mother was asking that her sons be the most powerful individuals in Heaven after Jesus Himself. Talk about a stage mother!
Jesus responded to her request with an answer that demonstrates once again that God’s ways are not man’s ways. While all of the disciples would suffer for the name of Christ, their desire to be the greatest in Heaven actually disqualified them from the position. Their hearts were not right regarding their place in that heavenly promised land. Those that will be greatest in heaven will not seek a great position. They will be servants and slaves. They will submit their own desires to the will of God and service to others. Eventually all but one of these 12 men will learn to do just that, but right now they are still spiritually immature.
Below are the verses that lay out the principle of greatness in Heaven.
Matthew 20:26-28 ESV
“… But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
I remember picking up Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driven Life” and reading the first line of text which said “It’s not about you.” I jumped up, got a notebook and started taking notes. On the front of that notebook I wrote “It’s not about you”. That is the secret to happiness; it’s not about you! You know when you really get that through your thick head it is actually quite freeing. Now you might say “how can being a servant and slave be freeing?” Good question but let me remind you again that God’s ways are not man’s ways. In fact His ways are often 180 degrees from man’s ways. So it is with true freedom.
Let me ask you, would you ever try to drive a nail with a glass serving dish? No? Why not? You wouldn’t do that because the nail wouldn’t get driven and the glass dish would shatter. A glass serving dish cannot drive a nail; only a hammer can do that. When a glass serving dish tries to be a hammer it gets broken. Are you broken? Most of us are because we try to be our own god. We want to be in charge of our life. If there is any serving that we must do we want it to be self-serving. When we try to be god of our own life we are simply glass serving dishes shattering our lives in an attempt to be something we are not. We are created beings, not the Creator. We were created for a purpose. We aren’t hammers; we weren’t made to drive nails. No, we are serving vessels. We were created to serve. You are going to be happiest when you are doing that for which you were created. You were created to serve.
What does this mean in terms of practical application? You belong to God. As His child He has put certain things in your care. He has made you His steward of those things and He wants to see you perform well with those responsibilities. What things? He has given you talents, abilities, intelligence, family, wife, kids, job, church, friends, income, and so much more. Do you think all of those things are yours or His? If you said yours stop, go back, and take Christian 101 all over again. No my friend everything you have and everything you are belongs to Him. He has simply asked you to take what He has put in your charge and grow it.
Think of every skill, ability, talent, relationship, and resource you have as little plants that God has asked you to raise to maturity. You must water these plants and apply fertilizer and ensure that they get enough sunshine. You may even need to prune them from time to time. If you do a really good job He will give you more plants to raise, and if you keep doing a good job eventually you will be given a farm to manage. You see, as His servant, slave, steward, you achieve your greatest purpose in life and gain your greatest inheritance in Heaven.
The greatest in Heaven don’t seek to be the greatest anything. They seek to be faithful, obedient servants and in the process they find the greatest joy and fulfillment. Brothers, serve your wives, serve your children, serve your church, serve your neighbors. Doing so is serving God.
God really doesn’t look at things the way we do. I have always been struck by how God’s way is often counterintuitive to man’s. We think the first should be first and the last should be last but God says the first shall be last and the last shall be first. Doesn’t make sense in human terms does it? We think that if we do more good than bad we should be able to get in to Heaven but God says even being angry with someone is enough to keep you out of Heaven no matter how much good you’ve done.
In today’s reading Jesus tells a parable that says those who belong to Him will inherit Heaven and our share of Heaven will have nothing to do with how long we were a Christian. This means the guy that has lived a horrible sin-filled life and truly submits his life to Christ just a day before he dies will have the same inheritance as a person who lived faithfully as a Christian for 60 years. Theoretically a brutal mass murderer could be saved and have the same inheritance in Heaven as you or me. Would that make you mad? (I say theoretically because a brutal mass murderer would have a pretty hardened heart – Jesus could melt that heart but they would still have to submit.)
You know, I don’t believe the story Jesus tells is really about the size of our inheritance but about our attitude toward others and toward God. Do we think we really earn a greater reward because of time served? Let me tell you something, the amount of time you serve Christ is meaningless; the attitude of your heart is everything. You were a sinner before a Holy God. He chose to show you grace and mercy. Does He take anything from you if he shows grace and mercy to another? Do you lose if a last minute convert receives as much of a blessing as you? Of the people I know that are following this blog I have a hard time imagining that they would be disturbed by such a scenario, but evidently there are enough people out there that would be disturbed to warrant Jesus addressing the issue.
We all need to understand something. None of us deserves Heaven. No amount of good work, pre or post conversion, matters. We serve God after our conversion because we love Him and want to serve Him, not because we hope for a greater reward. If you are serving God for any other reason you need to examine your heart. Something is wrong. Serve God out of love not desire for gain.
In these few short verses today we have two extremely controversial statements by Christ that continue to confound many to this very day. One of these statements has become a wedge that divides the body of Christ.
Matthew 16:18 ESV
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Jesus began this conversation by challenging His disciples to properly identify Him. There was much controversy among the people of that day as to who Jesus was. Was He a prophet like Jeremiah? Was He the resurrected Elijah as promised in the Bible? Was He John the Baptist, that is to say a great teacher, but nothing more? These were the various opinions being bandied about as Jesus walked the Holy Land. It is confession of Jesus as the Son of God which leads to salvation. It is this very question “Who is Christ?” which every person to this day must answer for themself.
Now Peter, being led by the Holy Spirit answered “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Peter’s answer resulted in Jesus telling him that he was blessed because flesh and blood had not revealed this to him. Now wait a minute. Wasn’t it Jesus who mentored Peter and the other disciples? Why would this have been revealed by God in Heaven rather than by Jesus on Earth? Some of us today wish we could have been there 2,000 years ago and sat at the Master’s feet as He taught. We seem to think it would have made belief in who He is somehow easier. Evidently not. It was the Holy Spirit who revealed the identity of Christ to Peter and the others back then just as He does today.
Okay so now we have this statement that “on this rock I will build my church”. Some believe that Jesus was saying that He would build His church on Peter or on his efforts. The Catholic church believes it is this very verse that gives the Pope spiritual authority over all Christians. Well this verse and the next:
Matthew 16:19 ESV
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Others believe that verse 18 refers to the idea that a confession of faith in Jesus Christ is that upon which Christ will build His church. Still others believe that Jesus is saying He will build His church upon Himself. I find the first interpretation rather tortured and flimsy. I view the other two as rather viable. Let’s take a closer look at verse 18 shall we?
“You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church”. In the original Greek we read “You are Petros and upon this petra I will build my church.” “Petros” means “a little piece of rock” and “petra” means “bedrock”. Now clearly Jesus is using a play on words to communicate a truth. Is that truth that He will build His church on one little rock, one rather week minded and week willed fisherman nicknamed “little rock”, or is it that He will build His church on something more substantial like bedrock? Is that bedrock a confession of who Jesus Christ is or is Jesus Christ Himself? I can almost see Jesus pointing to Peter as He says “little rock” and to Himself as He says “bedrock”. Can you?
My current favorite biblical commentator is J. Vernon McGee and he thought it is upon Jesus Himself that His church is being built. I can’t argue with this but the entire context of the conversation revolves around a confession of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. It seems to me we are splitting hairs. The church is built upon Jesus the Christ and a confession that He is the Christ for no one comes to the Father except through Him – not through Peter.
Where in Scripture does it say that Peter will pass on this alleged spiritual authority to only one person at a time? I’m afraid some weak Pope centuries ago saw in scripture a perversion that would allow him more power. He twisted scripture to suit his own desires for power. I am sorry for him. Meeting his maker must have been rather uncomfortable for him.
All of this, however, brings us to the issue of Peter being given the keys to the kingdom of heaven and the power to bind and set free. What are the keys of heaven? I’m afraid I do disagree with Mr. McGee who says that the keys are the Word of God. I’m sorry but I just don’t see that. Keys unlock an entry way. Can Scripture open the door to heaven? No, I’m afraid many a non-believer has read the Scriptures and walked away as lost and banished as when they started.
What allows us in to Heaven? Jesus Christ allows us in to Heaven. His bloody death and glorious resurrection open the door for us. By confessing Jesus as the Christ, the One who died, was buried, and was raised three days later just as Scripture foretold, one gains forgiveness for one’s sins and entry to Heaven. So Jesus is the key as is confession of who He is. But what about this binding and loosing business?
When we don’t share Christ with a lost person they are bound on Earth and excluded from Heaven. When we share Christ, and the Holy Spirit draws that person to saving faith in Him, that person is set free on Earth and gains entry to Heaven for eternity. The promise of the keys to Heaven was not a promise to Peter alone but to every Christian as we each are given the keys and the responsibility to set people free with them.
Did you realize you have the power to set people free? You do in that you can share Christ. You can’t save anyone, only the work of the Holy Spirit can work that miracle just as He did with Peter, but if you don’t share Christ with the lost they will be forever doomed.
Okay I guess I’m going to have to hit the second controversy quickly.
Matthew 16:28 ESV
“Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Jesus has not yet returned and all the people who heard Jesus speak are long dead. How can this statement by Jesus be true? I don’t have space to go into detail but tomorrow we are going to read about the transfiguration of Christ. It was at the moment that Peter, James, and John witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus that His prophecy was fulfilled. These three saw the Son of Man coming in his kingdom at that very moment.
Let me ask you, where do you think Jesus is right now? You say Heaven right? Brothers, that is His Kingdom. Those three fellows saw Jesus as He is today. This is not a dud of a prophecy. It has already happened.
Okay, I’m closing in on 1,200 words so I’ll have to leave it all at that. Let me know what you think and have a blessed day!
Have you ever heard someone say that they believe they will get into Heaven because they have done more good than bad? While Heaven is a Biblical concept this idea that doing more good than bad will get you in is not. Some people think that they can come to Christ on their own terms, that they will walk down the aisle and accept this free gift of salvation and then go about reforming their ways. They will attend church and volunteer for charitable work. Believe it or not such a person is not necessarily saved. Salvation is not a deal you make as if with an equal. It is not a business arrangement by which you promise to do X if Jesus promises to do Y.
No, the moment of salvation comes when a person truly comes face to face with the fact that they deserve eternal separation from God and that there is nothing they can do to earn their way back into His good graces. It is in that place of sincere, abject sorrow and regret for one’s sinful life where one truly gives up control of one’s self to Jesus Christ. At that point it is Christ who is in charge. That person is saved. I mention all of this because without that understanding a passage from today’s reading may seem a bit strange.
Matthew 12:43-45 ESV
“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”
What does this mean? It means that if you are doing the work of saving yourself you are only dressing yourself up for more sin. I like how my old buddy J. Vernon McGee put it.
“In other words, reformation is no good. My friend, you can quit doing many things, but that won’t make you a Christian. If everyone in the world would quit sinning right now, there wouldn’t be any more Christians in the next minute or in the next day, because quitting sin doesn’t make Christians. Reformation is not what we need….
This same situation is with us today. The hardest people in the world are unsaved church members because they think they are all right. They have undergone self-reformation—empty, swept, and garnished. They are like a vacant house, and all the evil spirits have to do is move in. The Devil owns them, and they don’t recognize this fact. Reformation means death and destruction. Regeneration means life and liberty.”
McGee, J. V. (1997). Thru the Bible commentary (electronic ed.). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Brothers, salvation is found not in our own power to stop sinning but in our relationship with Christ. Today’s reading points out how special that relationship is.
Matthew 12:48-50 ESV
“But he replied to the man who told him, ‘Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?’ And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’”
A Christian has a relationship with Christ so close it is closer than that of mother and child, brother and sister. That is one tight relationship. Do you see how those passages are related? Jesus is saying that you can’t clean yourself well enough to gain Heaven but if you will submit your life to Him you will be closer than a brother. This is fantastic because it reiterates the point that those that belong to Christ are adopted children of God. We are children of the King! We will go to Heaven because we belong to Him not because of any mysterious scale of right and wrong.
I’d like to close with a video of a comedian that goes by the stage name of “Father Guido Sarducci”. If you are my age you’ll remember him from Saturday Night Live back in the 70’s. He has a theory on paying for one’s sins and getting in to Heaven. There is one moment in the video where he speaks of a particular sin that may make some uncomfortable so if you are prone to being offended by such things please don’t view the video.
Today we read of the temptation of Christ. Jesus had just been baptized and the next thing we know he is wandering in the wilderness for an extended period of time without food or water. I wonder how many of us can relate to that. I accepted Christ with a fire in my heart. Over the years, however, there were times when my spiritual life seemed to dry out. At times I even felt, and acted, as if I was lost. When did Satan come to tempt Christ, when He was His strongest or weakest? Satan attacks when we are at our weakest.
Satan’s first jab was directed at Jesus’ physical weakness – hunger. His body needed food but His mission was not to serve Himself but His Father in Heaven. Jesus parried Satan’s thrust of temptation by using that great two-edged sword – the Word of God. Jesus knew God’s holy Word and He knew how to handle it appropriately. You’ll notice that Satan attempted to use this sword as well but in a self-serving, and thus inappropriate, way. Jesus easily deflected Satan’s repeated attacks. He was able to do this because He knew God’s Word. He had studied and memorized God’s Word and was prepared, even when at His weakest, to defend Himself.
Do you see why it is so important to spend daily time in God’s Word? If you haven’t figured it out yet let me inform you that you are in the midst of a spiritual battle. If you submitted your life to Christ you have enlisted in the Army of God and that makes you a prime target for the forces of darkness. Are you walking out into that battlefield every day without your armor? If you do take your sword with you, do you know how to use it appropriately? You can’t just go around swinging that thing wildly – someone will get hurt. No my friend you must put yourself through spiritual warfare boot-camp and then you must hone your skills every day.
I once heard it said that we cannot fight God’s battles with Satan’s weapons. I find that brilliant and, after some reflection, rather obvious. Lies, deceit, hate, murder, theft, self-centeredness – do you think you can go to war on the side of God using those weapons? Of course you can’t. Your weapons are selflessness, charity, truth, love, prayer, the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Find yourself a mentor, a spiritual Mr. Miyagi, and do the daily grind of “wax on, wax off” exercises to strengthen your spiritual muscles and to develop your skill in wielding your spiritual weapons. (Forgive the Karate Kid metaphor – I realize not everyone is familiar with that movie)
Bottom line, Jesus has given you an example of how to fight against the darkness. Learn the lesson. Develop your spiritual knowledge and skills so you will be ready for battle even when you find yourself at your lowest.
Matthew 24:1–14
